My Generation
"My Generation" is a song by the British rock group The Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. It has entered the rock and roll pantheon as one of the most celebrated, cited, and referenced songs in the idiom; it was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 13th on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll,Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Rock Songs: 1-50. It's also part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value. In 2009 it was named the 37th Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1. Written by Pete Townshend in 1965 for rebellious British youths called mods, it expressed their feeling that older people "just don't get it". Inspiration Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said to have been inspired by the Queen Mother who is alleged to have had Townshend's 1935 Packard hearse towed off a street in Belgravia because she was offended by the sight of it during her daily drive through the neighbourhood.AMAZING JOURNEY: THE LIFE OF PETE TOWNSHEND. Retrieved June 13, 2007. Townshend has also credited Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues" as the inspiration for the song, saying "Without Mose I wouldn't have written 'My Generation'."MOSE ALLISON |DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT. Retrieved June 13, 2007. Townshend told the Rolling Stone magazine in 1985 that "'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society".My Generation. Retrieved December 17, 2007. Composition Perhaps the most striking element of the song are the lyrics, considered one of the most distilled statements of youthful rebellion in rock history. The tone of the track alone helped make it an acknowledged forebear of the punk rock movement. One of the most-quoted—and patently rewritten—lines in rock history is "I hope I die before I get old", famously sneered by lead singer Roger Daltrey. Like many of The Who's earlier mod output, the song boasts clear influences of American R&B, most explicitly in the call and response form of the verses. Daltrey would sing a line, and the backing vocalists, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, would respond with the refrain "Talkin' 'bout my generation": : People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation) : Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation) : Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation) : I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation) The vocal melody of "My Generation" is an example of the shout-and-fall modal frame.Middleton 1990, p.207. This call and response is mirrored in the instrumental break with solo emphasis passing from Townshend's guitar to Entwistle's bass and back again several times. "My Generation" in popular culture * The line "I hope I die before I get old" was the inspiration for the They Might Be Giants 1985 song "Hope That I Get Old Before I Die", a reaction against the stereotypical values of rock and roll in the 1960s. * "Weird Al" Yankovic's first polka medley "Polkas On 45" closes with a polka version of the first verse of "My Generation". * Danny Tanner sings his own comedic attempt at the song with Jesse and the Rippers in the "Ol' Brown eyes" episode of Full House. * British pop singer Robbie Williams also released a song in 1997 called "Old Before I Die". The song reached #2 in the UK charts. * MC Lars parodied the line "I hope I die before I get old" in his 2005 single "iGeneration" (also referencing the title "My Generation"), with the line "I hope I die before I get sold". * The song was parodied by the webcomic xkcd. * The song "Americana" by the punk rock band The Offspring, features the line "I want it right now because my ge-generation don't like to wait", imitating Roger Daltrey's stutter. * The song was parodied by Harsh Reality as "(Talkin' 'bout) My Own Abortion". * In an episode of CSI, Catherine states at a crimescene "I hope I die before I get old", a reference to the song as The Who is repeatedly homaged in CSI, as Roger Daltry appeared in an episode and the themes to the 3 CSI shows are songs by The Who. * Kurt Cobain was quoted as saying "I hope I die before I turn into Pete Townshend." * A recent Looney Tunes cartoon was titled My Generation G-G-Gap (featuring a stutter in the title), and starred Porky Pig (himself a major stutterer). * British Rapper Steven has released a song "My Generation" which is believed to be inspired directly by The Who. Notable covers *"My Generation" has been covered by numerous artists. Some of the most recognized include Oasis, Iron Maiden, Hilary Duff, Green Day, Phish, Floater, The Wahas, The Zimmers, Gorky Park, Di-Rect, Generation X, Acrylic Steel and The Sweet. The latter is supposedly Townshend's favourite cover of the song. *"My Generation" was Patti Smith's standard set-closer from 1974-1978, and a live version appeared on record as the B-side of her 1976 single "Gloria" (with John Cale guesting on bass). This recording has since appeared as a bonus track on some CD re-issues of her album Horses. A live version with Michael Balzary (Flea) from Red Hot Chili Peppers playing bass appears on the 2005 30th Anniversary CD release Horses/Horses. *It was covered in French by Chapeaumelon, and appears on the soundtrack to the 2004 film EuroTrip. *Oasis released the track as a B-side on their 2002 UK single )"Little by Little" / "She is Love" and have closed their live shows with this track for several years, such as on their Don't Believe the Truth Tour. *German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz also covered the song as a B-side on their 2004 single "Onkelz vs. Jesus". *Teen pop singer Hilary Duff recorded "My Generation" as a bonus track on pressings in Japan of her second album, Hilary Duff (2004), and as a B-side on the "Someone's Watching over Me" (2005) CD single. In this version the famous line "I hope I die before I get old" was changed to "I hope I don't die before I get old". Rolling Stone listed the song as one of the worst covers of all time. *Roger Daltrey recorded the track with British band McFly in 2005 for the charity Teenage Cancer Trust. The track was released exclusively through the HMV's download site. *Most recently, an Age Concern campaign to raise awareness for the plight of old people in the UK saw the formation of The Zimmers, who covered "My Generation" as their debut single. *The Swedish punk band KSMB did a version of the song under the name Torbjörns horor (Torbjörn's bitches). *The Russian band Gorky Park covered the song on their 1996 debut self-titled album. The song had a new mix and the new version was very popular. *Hawk Nelson released their cover of the song as a track on the deluxe edition of their 2005 CD, Letters to the President. *Rick Springfield released a cover of the song as a bonus track on his 2008 album, Venus in Overdrive. *Helge Schneider covered the song in his 1999 album Eiersalat in Roc (as Helge and the Firefuckers) References Category:The Who Category:Sweet Children